KBLEKBLEKBEKLEKBLEKBLEKBEKLEKBLEKBLEKBEK BLEKBLEKBEKLEKBLEKBLEKBEKLEKBLEKBLEKBEKL
NEW FACULTY
the time I started the clerkship, Stevens had already been on the court 20 years. He could have done the work with one hand tied behind his back.”
room to maneuver. If they can interpret a statute in a way that they believe is consistent with what the legislature intended, they will adopt that approach.”
Dobbins worked closely with Stevens, reviewing and recommending action on petitions for certiorari, addressing emergency applications, and considering cases scheduled for argument. Dobbins also reviewed and edited opinions. “I would help to fill in the structure of an opinion initially drafted by the Justice — make sure that the facts were accurate, that the legal analysis and reasoning were complete, and that the language was precise,” Dobbins explained.
When his clerkship ended, Dobbins accepted an appellate attorney position in the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He primarily managed cases from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior on issues ranging from state water rights to Indian law, from coal mining permits to environmental crimes. “There was not a lot of substantive consistency across topics,” he noted, “but there was consistent attention to the appellate and legal questions that came up case after case.”
Of the more than 8,000 petitions for certiorari that were considered In 2002, Perkins Coie LLP offered by the Supreme Court in the year Dobbins an attorney position in “I enjoy the appellate process, he clerked for Stevens, the majority the commercial litigation group of because I like the ability to sift involved criminal matters. “That was their Portland office. Dobbins, who out what doesn’t matter in a a big change from the D.C. Circuit,” had clerked for the firm during law case to get to the heart of an he noted. He also saw a large number school, jumped at the opportunity. of death penalty cases. Dobbins said At Perkins Coie, Dobbins managed argument.” these cases were the most difficult for cases in environmental law and him. “There are such high stakes and general commercial litigation. He such a compressed, rushed process due to the nature of these also helped the firm create an appellate practice group. “I enjoy last minute appeals. It is hard to have faith in the process the appellate process, because I like the ability to sift out what when you see the limited amount of resources available to some doesn’t matter in a case to get to the heart of an argument,” criminal defendants.” he explained. Despite the stressful nature of the work, Dobbins found the Court to be relatively harmonious and collegial. Dobbins said the clerks often were “a safely valve” for the justices. What little skirmishing that existed on the Court outside of written opinions was almost always left to the clerks. “The clerks can get into scraps and have emotional blow outs,” he explained, “because they are there for a year, and then they are gone. The justices remain, so they must maintain a certain level of civility.” Dobbins also found the Court to be relatively immune to the party politics found in Washington. “In the majority of cases, results are driven by judicial philosophy,” he said. “The justices are trying to make decisions using the process of legal analysis they believe is most appropriate.” Differences did arise, however, over philosophies of how federal and state courts should interact. “One philosophy is that if an interpretation of the law is not obvious, right there in the text of a statute, then we’re done,” Dobbins said. “Other justices allow more
After four years with Perkins Coie, Dobbins made the move to academia, joining the Willamette College of Law faculty this summer. “I have always been interested in teaching,” he said. “When I think of what I’ve enjoyed most in my work, much of it was academic theory. Appellate work can be very similar to academics. In both, you stand in front of people asking you questions about how they should think about complicated legal issues. You have to answer those questions and explain those issues as clearly as possible. “My primary goal in teaching is to share my practical knowledge with students so they have greater success in their first real jobs as attorneys,” Dobbins said. “Walking into their careers, I want them to have had the practical experience they need to effectively represent their clients.” Although most law students will never have the opportunity to clerk for the country’s highest court, thanks to Dobbins, Willamette’s law students will still learn from the experience.
Fall 2006 | 19